Breathing Well

Don’t forget to breathe ….well.

This may seem an obvious statement but in reality most of us do not really exercise our lungs enough. Like any other part of the body our lungs need exercise to maintain their full movement and elasticity to keep our lungs clear and provide enough oxygen for our body to be active and healthy.

So what are the simple everyday activities that you can do?

If you are mobile it could be as easy as taking a brisk walk daily so that we have to breathe more deeply. This can be recognised by still being able to have a conversation with someone but having to ‘catch your breath’ such as

‘It’s a….. good day today…… for breathing well…. isn’t it?’ You should easily recover from this.

Joining a choir, singing or playing a wind instrument may be something else you could do to help you ‘breathe well.’ Any activity that makes you slightly breathless for a short time would help but it has to happen most days of the week.

If you are someone who has to sit in a chair or uses a stick or frame to help you walk then there are also some simple ‘breathe well’ activities that you can do. These can simply be lifting your arms above your head and taking a deep breath in, breathe out as you lower your arms. Vary this by taking your arms up to one side as you breathe in and then the other side. To obtain good benefit from this two or three deep breaths may need to be done every hour or so.

Arm exercises also exercise the chest and lungs such as a hand bicycle or there is also boxing! Yes, you can throw a few punches while sitting in a chair you will be surprised at how this increases your heart rate! Or maybe you prefer something on the Wii if you have one (you may need to dust it off!!) such as tennis. Whatever you do, do it safely and enjoy it.

Another simple way to ‘breathe well’ while sitting in a chair is to take a deep breath in and hold it……now take an extra sniff of air in on top of this so your lungs and chest feel fully stretched and inflated, hold…. and then breathe out.

Following expert advice we have decided to suspend all face-to-face appointments and activities and the Centre is currently closed to members and volunteers. We are looking at alternative ways to support people with MS. For further information click here